Heikki Kovalainen

Reemz27 · Posted: Wed Dec 10, 2008 9:33 am Post subject: Toyota

Quote:

F1 bill paying study:Toyota comes out on top
If a study into the financial habits of F1 teams is any guide, Toyota is not in danger of becoming the next to slip out of the sport.

In the wake of the marque's Japanese rival Honda deciding to quit F1, the Financial Times published the findings of a study into the creditworthiness of the remaining nine teams.

In the study, carried out by the business intelligence group Dun and Bradstreet, it emerged that Toyota is in fact only one of two teams that on average pays its bills on time.

Dun and Bradstreet's 'F1 Paydex' showed that the Cologne-based outfit pays invoices on average five days before they are due. In second and third places are Red Bull's two teams, which pay 99 percent of their bills on time.

On the other end of the scale is Williams, the only team in pitlane not backed by a manufacturer or a billionaire individual.

It is revealed that, on average, the British team pays its bills 11 days late - a similar performance to Honda.

Ranking last is Force India, which pays 99 percent of its bills late, and on average 75 days after they are due.

The data shows that Force India's habits in paying bills late have blown out from 50 days at the beginning of 2007.

Renault, BMW, Ferrari and McLaren rank in the middle of the study, with between 3 and 40 percent of their bills respectively paid late.

Source: GMM
© CAPSIS International
http://en.f1-live.com/f1/en/headlines/news/detail/081210083718.shtml

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Reemz27 · Posted: Sat Dec 13, 2008 9:58 am Post subject: Henki makes F1 test debut

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YOUNG Dutch driver Henki Waldschmidt took part in his first official Formula One test when he completed a successful two-day run for the Toyota F1 team at the Bahrain International Circuit (BIC).

Toyota have been testing at the Sakhir track since Wednesday. Their three-day session ended yesterday.

Waldschmidt, who was born in The Hague, is a member of the Toyota Young Drivers Programme (TDP), and raced in the Formula Three Euro Series this year. The 20-year-old previously progressed through the Formula Renault ranks.

As in previous years, Toyota F1 is playing its part in developing TDP drivers, and Henki was given two days behind the wheel of a TF108 at the team's penultimate test of this year, giving him invaluable experience of an F1 car.

Henki completed 128 laps and improved continuously throughout Wednesday and Thursday, finishing with a highly respectable best lap of one minute 33.430 seconds, which was within 1.5 seconds of Jarno Trulli's fastest time in qualifying for this year's Bahrain Grand Prix, despite different track conditions and different goals.

"I am very grateful to Toyota for giving me this opportunity to test an F1 car for the first time," said Henki. "It has been a fantastic experience, and I have learned a lot. The performance of the TF108 is incredible, compared to the cars I am used to driving. The experience of handling the power, the brakes and the downforce will be very helpful to me in my career.

Impressed

"I was very impressed to see how professional the team is and I can understand why they have made so much progress in the last year or so. They gave me a lot of useful information to prepare me for each day and helped me to improve my understanding of the car.

"I was not particularly familiar with the Bahrain circuit, so it was a big learning curve on Wednesday, but I am very pleased with my performance."

Trulli was also on track in Bahrain this week, gathering more data on the new Bridgestone Potenza slick tyres and a low downforce aerodynamic configuration to help the team prepare for the 2009 F1 world championship.

He also tested the RVX-08 engine with a view to the regulation change which extends engine life from two to three races next year, while trying out a new gearbox and other mechanical devices looking ahead to the new season.

He enjoyed three trouble-free sessions, completing a total of 258 laps over the three days and setting a fastest time of 1min 32.463s.

Test team manager Gerd Pfeiffer said: "It has been a productive test and we have achieved what we set out to. The good weather conditions here have helped us to complete a full programme aimed at gathering as much information as possible to help our preparations for 2009. Lap times were not our priority.

"Of course, this was Henki's first full F1 test, and he has made a good impression; he has been very professional and has made a lot of progress over the two days."
http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/Story.asp?Article=237580&Sn=SPOR&IssueID=31268

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Reemz27

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Toyota have brought the curtain down on their 2008 testing programme by introducing a new face behind the wheel of the TF108. Italian youngster Andrea Caldarelli, a member of Toyota’s young driver programme since 2007, enjoyed his first official Formula One outing during the team’s three-day test at Bahrain this week.

Caldarelli, who hails from Pescara, the same Italian city as Toyota race driver Jarno Trulli, completed 128 laps over Monday and Tuesday, and ended with a best lap of 1m 33.170s. Last season he raced in both the Formula Renault West European Championship and Eurocup.

“This has been a great experience for me and I have thoroughly enjoyed it,” he said “To get the chance to test a Formula One car when I am still only 18 is such a good opportunity and I was determined to make the most of it. Obviously the TF108 is a big step up compared to my usual car; the power is amazing but so are the brakes, and the grip you have going round corners takes a few laps to adjust to.

"I think I did a good job considering the circuit is new to me and this is my first full Formula One test. I would like to say thank you to Toyota for giving me the chance to test the TF108. This experience gives me extra motivation to fight as hard as possible to one day race a Formula One car.”

Timo Glock was also in action in Bahrain, continuing the team's 2009 preparations. Glock not only analysed Bridgestone's new slick tyres in conjunction with a low-downforce aerodynamic configuration, but tested a new gearbox and evaluated some mechanical devices to advance the team's KERS development. Toyota expect to run their complete KERS system for the first time in January.

Glock covered 258 laps during his three days in the car and clocked a best time of 1m 32.090s. Third driver Kamui Kobayashi, who took over Caldarelli’s TF108 on Wednesday, completed 33 laps to use up the final kilometres of the team's 2008 testing allowance.
http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2008/12/8791.html

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Reemz27 · Posted: Mon Dec 22, 2008 12:53 pm Post subject: Toyota predicts first ever loss

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Toyota warned on Monday that it would post an operating loss for the first time in its 71-year history – raising fresh concerns about the sustainability of its Formula 1 team.

The Japanese manufacturer cited a relentless slide in sales and a crippling rise in the yen as it slashed its group operating forecast for the 2008 financial year (ending on March 31) from a profit of £4.5bn to a loss of £1.1bn.

Having gone into 2008 aiming to become the first carmaker to sell 10 million vehicles in a single year, it has cut its forecast for the year ending March 31 to 7.5m vehicles. It sold 8.9m vehicles in the last business year.

The gloomy prognosis from the world’s biggest, and arguably most efficient, carmaker – renowned for making a profit even in difficult times – underlines the weakness of the global car industry, with potentially serious repercussions for manufacturer involvement in grand prix racing.

Honda’s disastrous November sales figures played a major part in the company’s sudden decision to pull the plug on its F1 programme, which it said it had not been contemplating two months earlier.

Following Honda’s withdrawal Toyota was quick to issue a statement declaring that it was “currently committed” to F1 but also emphasising the urgent need to reduce costs.

Shortly afterwards the FIA World Council ratified a raft of drastic cost-cutting measures agreed by the teams, including an in-season testing ban, restrictions on wind tunnel use and an increase in engine life for 2009 and still more radical steps from 2010.

These are expected to ease the financial burden of competing, but the teams are also pushing to increase the share of F1’s profits they receive from 50% to a figure closer to 80% – putting them on a collision course with Bernie Ecclestone and the sport’s majority owners CVC Capital Partners.

There are fears that even the major cost reductions agreed earlier this month will not be enough to prevent further manufacturer withdrawals given the dire state of the global car industry as the financial market meltdown spreads to the real economy.

Toyota president Katsuaki Watanabe said: “We are facing an unprecedented emergency.

"This is a crisis unlike the crises of the past.”

Departing from its normal practice, Toyota made no sales and production forecasts for next year, but Watanabe admitted there was no prospect of a turnaround in the near future.

“We need to be prepared for the tough conditions to continue, and maybe even worsen,” he said.

“Unfortunately, I cannot see now where the bottom will be.”

Toyota had already shocked investors last month by slashing its profit forecast from £12bn to £4.5bn. Honda cut its annual profit forecast by 67% last week.

On top of the global weakness of demand and the credit squeeze, the Japanese manufacturers have been hurt by a surge in the value of the yen, which recently reached a 13-year high against the US dollar.

This has led to plummeting car sales in key overseas markets, especially the USA, and the traditionally export-oriented Japanese economy unusually recorded a trade deficit in November.

American car manufacturers are in even worse shape, with General Motors and Chrysler requiring bail-outs from the US government to avoid bankruptcy, while Jaguar Land Rover has approached the British government for emergency financial support.
http://www.itv-f1.com/News_Article.aspx?id=44826

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Reemz27 · Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2009 3:05 pm Post subject: FIA Thursday Press Conference

did you hear about the crsh row in the press conference between Jarno & Adrian?

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ellen777 · Posted: Fri Oct 30, 2009 9:39 pm Post subject:

yeah i read that just before...i don't think it was a very good idea to have them on the same press conference...let alone next to each other

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YAY FOR FORMULA 1!!!

LogicPro · Posted: Sat Oct 31, 2009 12:36 pm Post subject:

I think Sutil has no fault. Trulli is always there blaming other drivers... Rolling Eyes

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"Ayrton Senna was an extraordinary racing driver. His skills, craft, subtlety and courage were of such magnitude that he dwarfed his generation of drivers."
Ron Dennis

MiniMarshmallow · Posted: Sat Oct 31, 2009 6:00 pm Post subject:

It was definately Trulli's fault. You can't expect him to move into the path of another car to get out of your way because you were stupid enough to go right over the kerbs in an attempt to overtake.
That's not the way it works.

And really, if anyone should have been angry after that crash, it should have been Alonso. He was taken out by the two of them, whoevers fault it was. Of course he will see it as the FIA did as a racing incident and that's why he left the track straight away, but he got caught in the aftermath of an incident he wasn't even involved in!

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Mini: 'How dare you go out when Monaco is on?!'
Ash: 'I need a car...'
Mini: 'Yeah, well, so does Hamilton Smile

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MiniMarshmallow · Posted: Wed Nov 04, 2009 4:34 am Post subject:

Toyota have announced their withdrawal.
Two less cars on the grid, two less seats for an increasing number of drivers.

(Doesn't this mean though that there will be space on the grid for the people who bought out BMW? Or have I got this wrong?)

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Mini: 'How dare you go out when Monaco is on?!'
Ash: 'I need a car...'
Mini: 'Yeah, well, so does Hamilton Smile

'

Royalblau · Posted: Wed Nov 04, 2009 9:52 am Post subject:

Sauber needed a team to drop out to have a chance at the grid next year, so this could be their chance. It's also remotely possible that they still might not make it, but I'd think that's not terribly likely.